The Alley plans a week of fun for spring break

Wednesday

Mar 6, 2013 at 4:00 AM

Movies, games, dances on the schedule

By Don SteeleDodge City Daily Globe

The Alley, a teen center that was opened in 1996 to give young people a place to hang out, is planning a full week of activities next week to celebrate spring break."We wanted to open our facility for the kids who will still be in town during spring break — we're thinking of it as a 'stay-cation,'" said Melissa Province, executive director of The Alley.From 1 to 6 p.m. Monday, March 11, The Alley will show movies."We have a new big screen and projector," Province said.On Tuesday, a "Just Dance IV" tournament begins at 10 a.m. "It's based on the video game and you get groups of four together and compete — the routines are kind of like backup dancers," Province said.Wednesday it's another tournament — this time 3 on 3 basketball, also starting at 10 a.m.Thursday it's "A Minute To Win It" tournament time, with competitions to complete silly challenges like tossing and catching eggs or building a stack of dice with a tongue depressor in your mouth. The challenges begin at 10 a.m. and competitors work in teams of two.Friday is a day for relaxing as there's no competition, just a Hawaiian-themed dance party."The kids decided to call it the 'Freaky Tiki Luau Dance,'" Province said.The Friday party will be open to 5th-graders from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., for middle school students from 7 to 9 p.m. and for high school students from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.With the exception of movie day, these is a small fee for each activity: $10 per team of four for Just Dance, $9 per team of three for basketball, $4 per team of two for "Minute To Win It" and $3 per person for the dance."We use the proceeds to cover the cost of the activities and to buy prizes for the competitions," Province said. "But a student can do the whole spring break week for just $10.50 — that's a pretty good deal."The Alley will be open until 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday so parents can make transportation arrangements.And lunch will be available Monday through Thursday."We're planning to have pizza for $1 per slice," Province said.

For the kidsThe Alley is open every day after school from 3 to 5:30 p.m.Students can come to play basketball or pool, to enjoy the new computer lab or play the new Wii games, or to get help with homework."Every kid in our after school program last semester was on the A/B honor roll," Province said.Additional evidence of the positive effect The Alley has on Dodge City youth can be seen in the fact that there is a spike in juvenile crime when The Alley is not open and there are more reports of trouble at the mall and the movie theater when the center is closed as well."The police tell us they can tell when we're not open by the calls they get," Province said.The Alley is funded with grants and private donations.The Alley is located at 2200 First Avenue. For more information, call 225-8282.